Domes and Flows: Do Temporal Trends in Dacitic Magma Chemistry and Rheological Behavior at Santiaguito, Guatemala, Reflect Magma Chamber or Conduit Processes?
Abstract
Santiaguito is a dacitic dome complex growing in the crater left by the 1902 plinian eruption of the stratovolcano Santa Maria, in Guatemala. The domes began growing in 1922 and are still active, with frequent small ash and steam eruptions, and semi-continous extrusion of crystal-rich dacitic lava both as spines on the domes (endogenous growth) and slow-moving block-lava "stealth" flows (exogenous growth). All four vents have produced both domes and flows, and at times multiple vents have been active. Between 1999 and 2004, one flow reached a length of 4 km. New flows emerged from the same vent in 2004 and 2005-2006 (ongoing). Flow morphology is controlled by rheology, which in turn depends on lava composition, crystal content, and volatile content. Samples of flows erupted from 1987 to the present share many features, including a phenocryst population dominated by complexly zoned plagioclase, a micro-crystalline plagioclase-rich rhyolitic groundmass, and a complete absence of hydrous phases. Small amphibole crystals with thick oxide rims are found only in samples more than 30 years old. Bulk-rock chemical analyses confirm a decrease in magma SiO2 content, from 63.5 - 66 wt.% before 1980, to 61 - 63 wt.% today. It has been suggested that this decreasing SiO2 content reflects the tapping of deeper and hotter magma; the lack of amphibole indicates that it must also be drier. From these preliminary results, we infer that magma chemistry is probably dictated by long time-scale changes in the magma chamber, while eruptive style is probably controlled by phenocryst content, matrix volatile content and microlite growth, which owe more to ascent dynamics and conduit processes than the parental magma. The lack of a direct correlation between bulk magma chemistry and extrusive style may also apply to other dacitic volcanoes such as Mount Saint Helens, suggesting that they also have the potential to produce kilometer-long flows if changes occur to the conduit system.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006AGUFM.V51E1718A
- Keywords:
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- 3641 Extrusive structures and rocks;
- 8413 Subduction zone processes (1031;
- 3060;
- 3613;
- 8170);
- 8414 Eruption mechanisms and flow emplacement;
- 8429 Lava rheology and morphology;
- 8439 Physics and chemistry of magma bodies